Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

176 Studying online 

is crucial if you want to minimise distractions and stay focused 
on the assignment. 
Tere is also one other aspect of computing you need to consid-
er, and that is broadband access and bandwidth. You will want 
to make sure that when you are due to upload the assignment to 
the university’s VLE that you are going to have enough Internet 
access. It’s a regular occurrence for lecturers to get requests for 
extensions from students who have tried to upload their assign-
ments at the required time, only to fnd they cannot do so. Tey 
have run out of data on their mobile device, for example. Or their 
WiFi is overloaded as everyone else in the house is using it at the 
same time. I do not give extensions in these situations, and I can’t 
imagine many universities doing so. It is your responsibility to 
make sure that you have the technical capability to upload your 
fles when required. If that means buying more data on your mo-
bile package or asking others in the house to stop using their de-
vices for fve minutes, then so be it. 
QUICK TIP: Make sure you will be able to upload your assign-
ment on time and that you will have enough data allowance 
to do so. 
Tere is one other aspect of planning your environment for as-
signments: ensuring that everyone else in the household knows 
what you are doing. You need to focus on the work and get the 
best marks, so ask them to avoid distracting you. Parents, espe-
cially, need to know that you do not need constant interruptions 
asking if you are OK or need a cup of tea. 
HANDLING ONLINE FORMATIVE 
ASSESSMENTS 
A formative assessment is the kind of assignment that helps check 
your progress. Sometimes this will be a simple quiz that allows 

---